http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/nigeria.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=125989 http://tobacco.org/news/274069.html Lagos Environmental Rights Action /Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has condemned an "anti-smoking bill" passed by the House of Representatives last Tuesday, describing it as several steps backwards in the efforts by government and civil society groups in the country to reduce tobacco consumption and its attendant health, social, economic and environmental costs.The House had on Tue... This Day Nigeria Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://allafrica.com/stories/200810240550.html http://tobacco.org/news/274068.html Over the past couple of years, the British-America Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) through its charity arm, the British-America Tobacco Nigeria Foundation, has cleverly used some of the noble goals of CSR to push its way further into the good books of the Nigerian public. Simultaneously its toxic products i.e. cigarettes are being showcased as cool and fashionable. Its strategy is clearly to identify the gaps in our socio-economy and provide what it considers to be solutions to poverty reduction. Hence we see its support for initiatives such as provision of water, support for farmers, and other kinds of pro-poor interventions on the rise. Last week the Foundation inaugurated an animal husbandry project and laid the foundation stone for a vocational enterprise institution. Guests at the ceremony included the wife of a Governor. All these point to the fact that the BATN and the rest and their products are further gaining popularity and affinity with the citizenry. The unholy wholesale push of its products through a series of anti-poverty interventions should by now have set alarm bells ringing. The corporation has clearly worked out how to keep its popularity alive and by extension the romantic liaison between the killer stick and Nigerians. In advanced countries, smoking has come up against a strong tide of opposition from a vibrant anti-smoking lobby and it is no longer deemed so fashionable and funky. Over here, the anti-smoking lobby is up against the likes of BATN's heavy duty and 'pro-people' CSR portfolio. . . . One of the arguments being promoted by supporters are the jobs these tobacco industries are able to generate. But this is at such a high cost to the nation in terms of the number of able - bodied men and women who become incapacitated with tobacco-related illnesses. . . . Anti-smoking lobbyists need to step up their campaign against the wiles and tactics of the Tobacco industry. A limit needs to be placed on its areas of influence. For instance targeting the vulnerable through needy interventions and flogging their harmful products in the process are not on. Government should not allow itself to be hoodwinked into accepting goodwill interventions (?) from the tobacco industry which will ultimately harm the people whose interests they (the government) were elected to protect. . . . Anti-poverty interventions should not be used as a channel by the tobacco lobbyists to promote their products as a pleasurable way if life. Health education campaigns really need to be targeted towards the poor especially in the rural areas where many of the interventions and sales distributors are located. The rural populace need to be fully aware of the dangers involved as they inhale and exhale on their favourite brands. Effective awareness campaigns mounted by activists require funds. The paucity of funds severely limits the extent to which the message can reach. One is not sure if the Government is sincerely disposed towards tackling smoking as one of the hazards in our society today. Early in the year a ban on smoking in public places was instituted. Not much has been heard about it since the announcement on No Tobacco Day. All-Africa.com Nigeria Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.independentngonline.com/colu/scru/article01 http://tobacco.org/news/273756.html Today, as I allow my mind to endure the oppressive thought that tobacco still remains the ruthless killer next door, what then shall we call its producers and distributors? The answer can only be simple and straightforward: They are people who prosper at the expense of other people's lives. They make their billions by ruining other people's health, and eventually terminating their lives. They should therefore not complain if anyone refers to them as proud, happy, licensed murderers. How these people are able to deaden their conscience to go on prospering and sustaining their own lives by producing and marketing a scientifically confirmed poison whose only benefit is its ability to cruelly terminate the lives of their fellow human beings beats me hollow? . . . Richard Boeken, who had developed incurable cancer of the brain and lungs after smoking two packs of Marlboro cigarettes every day for 40 years. This should serve as eye opener to Africans that with several class suits from victims of tobacco, these evil merchants of death can be forced out of the continent. According to the New York Post editorial of June 9, 2001, 56-year-old Boeken who began smoking as a teenager in 1957 claimed that "he continued smoking because ... he believed claims by tobacco companies that smoking was safe." He told reporters in a post-trial interview: "I didn't believe they would lie about the facts that they were putting out on television and radio." Now, that is exactly the issue. . . . It is widely known that many tobacco producers are non-smokers because they know too well how deadly their products are! In court and in several enquiries, tobacco producers have admitted that their product contains very harmful substances. So why should the government not protect its citizens against it? Tobacco is a killer. So are its manufacturers. Nigerians should rise with one voice and unified strength and resist this cannibal in our midst. The battle is winnable. Daily Independent scruples@independentngonline.com (Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye, scruples@independentngonline.com ) Nigeria Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=126675 http://tobacco.org/news/273739.html Government of Switzerland has protested the mode of service of court processes in the N130 billion tobacco suit filed by the Federal Government against British American Tobacco Nigeria Limited, and a Swiss-based cigarette company, Philip Morris International. Philip Morris was joined in the suit as the fifth defendant. The Federal Government is yet to effect service on the company since last year when the case was filed. Justice Adamu Umar of a federal high court sitting in Abuja, had ordered that service be effected on the fifth defendant through a substituted means and that the court processes be published in a national daily in Switzerland. But counsel to BATN, Mr Dapo Adeosun, told the court that the Swiss government, through a letter to the Ministry of Justice in Abuja, protested the mode of service. At the last adjourned date, the Federal Government accused Philip Morris of evading service in the suit it filed against British American Tobacco Nigeria Limited and four other companies over production and marketing of tobacco products in the country. This Day Nigeria Switzerland Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLT319823 http://tobacco.org/news/273670.html A Nigerian court adjourned on Wednesday a 5.3 trillion naira ($45 billion) lawsuit brought by the government against three tobacco firms until January so the prosecution can serve court papers on one of the defendants. Nigeria is seeking a sum, roughly twice the size of its annual budget, in damages for public health costs from British American Tobacco BAT.L, Philip Morris International and Nigerian firm International Tobacco Ltd. The Nigerian government has accused the firms of targeting young smokers by promoting the sale of individual cigarettes and has asked the court to ban cigarette sales to under-18s and curb advertising aimed at young people. . . . Government lawyer Dapo Akinoshun told a Federal High Court in Abuja that Swiss-based Philip Morris had rejected court papers sent on three occasions by courier. Efforts to publish the summons in a Swiss newspaper had also failed, he said. Philip Morris could not immediately be reached for comment. Akinoshun appealed to be able to serve the papers through the Swiss embassy in Nigeria as a last resort. "The application is granted. The defendant should be served through the diplomatic channel," Judge Adamu Bello ruled, adjourning the case to Jan. 19. It is the second time that the court has had to adjourn the case so that lawyers could serve Philip Morris. Reuters Nigeria Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=126018 http://tobacco.org/news/272881.html To the observant, it is very clear that the tobacco industries operating in Nigeria are using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a platform to worm their way into the public’s consciousness as do-gooders. CSR is a veritable channel through which to plough back socio-economic value into host communities. It has proved to be a very successful way of using social investment as a route to development and growth. Though sometimes in public relations gimmicks it is manipulated by some corporate institutions, the overall objectives of CSR if applied sincerely are honourable. Over the past couple of years, the British-America Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) through its charity arm, the British-America Tobacco Nigeria Foundation, has cleverly used some of the noble goals of CSR to push its way further into the good books of the Nigerian public. Simultaneously its toxic products i.e. cigarettes are being showcased as cool and fashionable. Its strategy is clearly to identify the gaps in our socio-economy and provide what it considers to be solutions to poverty reduction. . . . All these point to the fact that the BATN and the rest and their products are further gaining popularity and affinity with the citizenry. The unholy wholesale push of its products through a series of anti-poverty interventions should by now have set alarm bells ringing. The corporation has clearly worked out how to keep its popularity alive and by extension the romantic liaison between the killer stick and Nigerians. . . . Tobacco corporations have been banned from promoting sports, entertainment etc in Europe and America. Unfortunately in various parts of Africa , we still have them sponsoring events whose target audience are mainly the youth. Smoking is still being marketed as fashionable and the in-thing to do. . . . Anti-smoking lobbyists need to step up their campaign against the wiles and tactics of the Tobacco industry. A limit needs to be placed on its areas of influence. For instance targeting the vulnerable through needy interventions and flogging their harmful products in the process are not on. Government should not allow itself to be hoodwinked into accepting goodwill interventions -- from the tobacco industry which will ultimately harm the people whose interests they (the government) were elected to protect. . . . Effective awareness campaigns mounted by activists require funds. The paucity of funds severely limits the extent to which the message can reach. One is not sure if the Government is sincerely disposed towards tackling smoking as one of the hazards in our society today. Early in the year a ban on smoking in public places was instituted. Not much has been heard about it since the announcement on No Tobacco Day. This Day *tayo_agunbiade@yahoo.com (Tayo Agunbiade, 10.23.2008) Nigeria Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2008/oct/24/national-24-10-2008-010.htm http://tobacco.org/news/272872.html The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has condemned the passage of an anti-smoking Bill by the House of Representatives, saying the lower legislative chamber had compounded the issues as they affect tobacco use. It also described provisions in the new Bill as several steps backward in efforts by the government and civil society groups in the country to reduce tobacco consumption and its attendant health, social, economic and environmental costs. The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a Bill which raised the fine on smoking in public places to N50,000, four months imprisonment or both. The existing Tobacco Control Act 1990 (formerly Decree 20, 1990), which the new Bill sought to repeal, had prohibited smoking in public places across the country. The Act, however, stipulated a fine of between N200 and N1,000, one month imprisonment or both for offenders. ERA in a statement issued by its Programme Manager, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said the promoters of the Bill appear to have deliberately ignored all the gains that had been recorded in tobacco control, fuelling suspicion that it may have been influenced by tobacco industry lobbyists since there are on-going efforts to enact a comprehensive national tobacco control law. Daily Sun Nigeria Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.independentngonline.com/news/abuj/article03/080905 http://tobacco.org/news/272812.html Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration is committed to the fight against tobacco smoking in public places and would not relent until the battle was won, its Minister, Aliyu Modibbo Umar, has reassured. Umar gave the assurance on Thursday while declaring open an Africa Regional Strategy Workshop on Tobacco Control organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation, Framework Convention Alliance in Abuja. The minister said the battle against tobacco smoking in public places was just beginning and therefore called on relevant authorities to impose stringent tax regime on tobacco products to make smoking an expensive venture. Daily Independent Nigeria Africa Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.independentngonline.com/news/head/article07/081022 http://tobacco.org/news/272811.html Anyone caught smoking in public places would henceforth be prosecuted, according to an anti-smoking law passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Anyone guilty of the offence, according to the lawmakers, would be liable to four months imprisonment or a fine of N50, 000 or both. During the consideration of the report brought to the House by the House Committee on Health, the legislators unanimously agreed that anybody who sells cigarettes to persons under the age of 18 years should be liable to two months imprisonment or N50, 000 fine or both. Manufacturers of cigarettes were not left out in the bill as the recommendation of the report that manufacturing cigarette without label in both front and back of the pack indicating that smoking kills should be liable to fine of N100,000. Daily Independent Nigeria Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://tobacco.org/news/271305.html Advocates from 22 countries around Africa, recently, concluded an anti-Tobacco conference, held in the Nigerian Capital of Abuja. The 3-day conference, according to the Gambian delegate, Mr Sambujang Conteh, representative of the NGO-CSO Network on Tobacco Alliance, made a passionate call on African delegates due to embark on a World Health Organization conference for the parties to the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, slated for November later this year, in Durban, South Africa. In a communiqué issued at the end of the African Regional Strategy meeting on Tobacco Control, under the aegis of the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), the Abuja delegates described as alarming the spread of the tobacco epidemic in Africa. They urged tough measures on tobacco, calling on member countries to adopt the strongest possible guidelines based on the dictates of Articles 5.3, 11, and 13 of the FCTC. The effect of tobacco, the communiqué observed, ‘is devastating on health, economy and environment of our continent.’ . . . In a display of renewed effort, the group also endorsed African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) as an umbrella body to harmonize tobacco control efforts of non-governmental organizations in Africa. The NGO-CSO network on Tobacco Control, The Gambia, is a composition of five formidable groups of 2 NGOs and 3 civil society organizations. The African Network for Information and Action Against Drugs (RAID – The Gambia) is one of the NGOs, and its director, Mr Sambujang Conteh, the chairperson of the Alliance, represented the country at the Abuja conference. Mr Conteh called for a “concerted effort” in the crusade of stemming the ills of tobacco consumption. WOW.gm Nigeria Africa Gambia Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17216&Itemid=0 http://tobacco.org/news/271300.html Area Director, BAT Nigeria, Mr. Simon Welford, has called on the newly appointed Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Alhaji Haman Bello, to assist in making sure that all players in the industry comply fully with the new SON Cigarette Standards which came into force recently. Conducting the Customs boss round the company’s factory in Ibadan during a famililarisation visit, recently, Welford urged the Customs to help SON to enforce the new regulation on tobacco so as to maintain a level playing field in the industry. Welford took the comptroller-general through a brief history of the operations of BAT Nigeria and its significant contribution to the Nigeria economy. He said, with the signing of memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2001, the state of the art factory was completed in a record time of 18 months with over $150 million in foreign direct investment (FDI). . . . “With the coming of BAT into Nigeria, 70 per cent of the market share is now legal, a significant departure from the 80 per cent illicit trade as of 2001” Vanguard Nigeria Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/product_info.php?products_id=34406&osCsid=349566a1907b019a5833c3b5901a0479 http://tobacco.org/news/271245.html The Executive Director of British America Tobacco of Nigeria (BATN) Foundation, Mr. Foluso Koku, has pledged the commitment of the foundation to improve the quality of life of Nigerians both in urban and rural areas. The Executive Director, who spoke at the inauguration of solar- powered bore holes for Du and Kazung Du communities in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau, said Du and Kazung Du are the country homes of Governor Jonah Jang and the former Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr. Buba Gyang Leadership Nigeria Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.champion-newspapers.com/news/article20_160908.htm http://tobacco.org/news/271242.html The British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) Foundation last Friday in Du, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau, handed over two solar-powered boreholes to the community. Handing over the boreholes to the Plateau State government, the foundation's Chairman, Chief Olu Akinkugbe, said that each of the boreholes was equipped with a 20, 000 litre-tank and a solar panel, among other accessories. Akinkugbe said that the foundation was committed to supporting the ongoing campaign for the eradication of water-borne diseases in Nigeria through the provision of potable water to some communities. Champion Newspapers Nigeria Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16159&Itemid=42 http://tobacco.org/news/270737.html MINISTER of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar has vowed that he will not relent on his oars at ensuring that war against tobacco smoking in the Federal Capital Territory was achieved. Speaking yesterday while declaring open an Africa Regional Strategy Workshop on Tobacco Control organized by a Non-Governmental Organization, Framework Convention Alliance in Abuja, the Minister said that the battle against tobacco smoking in public places was just beginning, just as he urged all relevant authorities to impose stringent tax regime on tobacco product to make smoking an expensive venture. Vanguard Nigeria Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://allafrica.com/stories/200808150785.html http://tobacco.org/news/270159.html The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) yesterday urged the federal government to investigate on-going 'Experience Freshness' secret parties being organised by the British American Tobacco Nigeria to promote its Pall Mall cigarette brand. It said the parties were being used to induce under-age persons into smoking. ERA/FoEN, in a statement issued in Lagos, alleged that BAT has staged the "smoking" parties secretly in Sokoto, Kano, Ilorin, Ibadan while the most recent was held at Gateway Hotel, Kuto, Abeokuta on Wednesday, August alleging that the tobacco company has concluded plans to stage the next party in Akure, Ondo state. "It is outrageous that BAT is still conducting itself this way just weeks after a BBC documentary revealed how the corporation had been marketing cigarettes to children across Africa and how it had used parties and concerts to lure people to smoking," the group's Programme Manager, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said. All-Africa.com Nigeria Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT